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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

It’s a Blast from the Past!

There’s nothing like delving into the past to get a kick out of old TV shows. Doogie Howser, M.D. is…is just perfect for such an occasion. Is it just me or does Neil Patrick Harris look like he’s 12? God bless 1980’s television putting nurses in a “scrubs dress”. Watching that made me giggle like a little school girl. But it made me think, there are some things from the past that are good. Such as a good old fashioned breakfast of champions. There’s no better way to start the day, not with the breakfast burritos or pop tarts that stores offer now, than with a full breakfast of home fries, bacon, and Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce. As delicious as this is, this is a rare treat for us because we don’t like to eat meals that are full of calorie heavy dishes all in one meal J I’ll start with the home fries because they take the longest.
The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com and I was pretty happy with it, but I made my own changes to it in order to spice it up.
Home Fries
  • 6 medium russet potatoes, cubed
  • 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼-1/2 onion
  • 2 shallots – optional
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ leeks (light green and white part only), chopped - optional
  • Pinch of cayenne
1.      Rinse potato cubes with cold water, and drain well.
2. Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion, shallots, leeks, and garlic until they’ve all sweat.

3. Place potatoes in the skillet, and stir to coat with butter. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
4. Cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook for another 10 minutes, turning frequently until brown and crisp on all sides
                                                
Amount Per Serving  Calories: 199 | Total Fat: 8.8g | Cholesterol: 23mg
Can’t forget to make the bacon!
                                                       
I made the English muffins the day before so these were already made, but I’ll give you the recipe, it’s also from Allrecipes.com I chose this one because it had such high ratings.
English Muffins
Makes 18 - 20
-          1 cup milk
-          2 tablespoons white sugar
-          1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
-          1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
-          1/4 cup melted shortening
-          6 cups all-purpose flour
-          1 teaspoon salt
1.      Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2.      In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4. Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. OR preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 8 minutes each side.
5. To use, split and toast. Great with orange butter, or cream cheese and jam.
Amount Per Serving  Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 3.5g | Cholesterol: 1mg

Hollandaise Sauce
*This recipe is from the movie Julie and Julia. I liked this recipe over other Hollandaise sauce recipes because it tastes lighter and it has less fat in it than others. 
Makes 1 c                    Takes 15 minutes                    Has only 1 gram of fat/tbsp
-          1 tbsp butter
-          ¾ c nonfat buttermilk, divided or see TIP below
-          1 tbsp cornstarch
-          ½ tsp salt
-          Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
-          1 large egg, lightly beaten
-          1 tbsp lemon juice
1.      Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until the butter turns gold, 30-60 seconds. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
2.      Whisk ¼ c buttermilk, cornstarch, salt and cayenne in a heavy medium saucepan until smooth. Whisk in egg along with the remaining ½ c buttermilk.
3. Set the pan over medium-low heat and cook the sauce, whisking constantly, until it comes to a simmer.
4. Cook, whisking, for 15 seconds. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice and the reserved butter. Serve hot or warm. Classic variations to make sauce Moutarde, add 2 tsp Dijon mustard. For sauce Maltaise, use 1 ½ tbsp orange juice in place of the lemon juice.
**TIP: You can use powdered buttermilk and reconstitute according to directions, or make sour milk by mixing 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar to 1 c milk.
And Lastly, poach the eggs to complete the eggs benedict breakfast meal!
-          Eggs (however many you want to make for everyone)
-          2 tbsp white vinegar
-          Water
1.      Fill pot with 4” water and add the vinegar. Bring to a steady simmer.
2.      Break the eggs into a bowl carefully not to break them.  Hold the edge of the bowl close to the water and tilt the egg into the water. Repeat with all the eggs. Cook about 3 minutes until whites are cooked through but the yolk is still runny.
3.      Carefully remove the eggs, one at a time, with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.
Put together however you please! Enjoy.